Lot 14

Private collection, Melbourne

Reko Rennie is a Kamilaroi artist based in Melbourne, whose practice spans painting, installation and public works. Emerging from a background shaped by both urban culture and his Indigenous heritage, Rennie has developed a distinctive visual language that bridges his First Nations identity with contemporary aesthetics. Rennie's practice is unapologetically public, asserting Aboriginal presence in spaces where it has historically been marginalised. (1)

"Camo OA" 2024 shows Rennie's distinctive visual language, in which bold patterning and saturated colour operate as aesthetic strategy. The composition's vivid palette, electric blues and teals structured into rhythmic chevrons, is overlaid with irregular black and pink camouflage forms across the surface. The result is a visually arresting field in which pattern and disruption coexist.

Central to Rennie's practice is the use of camouflage as both motif and metaphor. Rather than concealing, camouflage in his work functions as a strategy of heightened visibility, drawing attention to the conditions under which First Nations identity is alternately obscured and hyper visible. Rennie's compositions possess a striking visual immediacy that draws from graffiti, hip hop culture and billboard aesthetics. (2)

The underlying geometric field remains significant, introducing rhythm and optical movement across the surface. While not derived from his better-known diamond atterning, the structured zigzag ground establishes a system of order against which the organic camouflage forms appear fluid and disruptive. This interplay reflects the intersection between traditional identity and contemporary urban experience. (3) The work does not rely on direct quotation of cultural motifs but instead operates through a reconfiguration of visual codes, graphics and abstract shapes iconic to Rennie's practice.

The camouflage pattern contrasts with the rigid geometry beneath, suggesting movement, intrusion, or transformation. In this way, the work embodies Rennie's capacity to challenge fixed perceptions of Aboriginal art by reconfiguring cultural motifs within a contemporary abstract framework. (3) The visual language is not illustrative but operates through tension, contrast, and repetition.

Ultimately, this work demonstrates Rennie's ability to mobilise contemporary aesthetics in the service of cultural and political expression.

Wiebke Brix
Head of Art

(1) Snoekstra, A., First Nations Artist Reko Rennie, The Saturday Paper, 12 - 18 October 2024, Edition No. 521 (accessed online 10.04.2026)
(2) Ramsay, O., Reko Rennie: Recent Works, Right Now, 21 June 2012 (accessed online 11.04.2026)
(3) Russell-Cook, M., Sacred Geometry: The Art and Life of Reko Rennie, Essay for, REKOSPECTIVE: The Art of Reko Rennie, National Gallery of Victoria, 8 October 2024 (accessed online 11.04.2026)

© Courtesy of the Artist and Amez Yavuz Gallery, Sydney, 2026